Member Reviews
This books is about two sisters and their grown daughters. The sisters are estranged and their daughters are also having problems. Chamberlin takes us through the struggles as they try and work things out. In the end all is resolved.
Holly Chamberlin is known for her female driven plots, however this one fell a bit flat for me. I found myself having a difficult time feeling sympathetic for either of the sisters and felt them to be both selfish and self indulgent. Carol, to me was the most selfish of the sisters as she gave up her daughter for a better life and then came back demanding rights to a house. The only thing that kept me reading was the ongoing drama's of dealing with a cheating husband, being left behind to live with an aunt, and trying to make it in the big city as a teenager. At the end of the book most of the loose endsd were tied up, which was nice but it was still difficult to get through.
this dysfunctional family of women struggles to get along and remember the importance of the family when the long estranged older sister moves home to the family house in Maine.. A story of relationships and misunderstandings and misremembered events.
All Our Summers features women from adolescence to mid sixties. Two sisters, two cousins, and a granddaughter spend a never to be forgotten summer. Many lessons are learned about self value, forgiveness, understanding, and compassion. At first, the book was very slow moving and I wasn't connecting with many of the characters. Finally, almost 2/3 through, breakthroughs were made and the characters became much more interesting. The ending was satisfying.
Did someone say dysfunctional? On almost every level, the Ascher family is an example of dysfunction that is so mired in the past with real and imagined slights, that they are finding it ever more difficult to think that the future.could be so different. Sisters Bonnie and Carol slowly realize that although they cannot change the past, it is up to them to determine a better future.
Good story about the complexities of two sisters who do not understand each other and the house that both think is theirs. The box explores their relationship and a cold heart is warmed. I received an arc of this story from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest review.
#AllOurSummers#NetaGalley
This book was excellent as all of Holly Chamberlin's book are.
The Story opens in Yorktide Maine where two sisters have joint ownership of the family home called Ferndean House.Bonnie has remained In Yorktide taking care of her parents till they passed away and then taking care of the family home.
Her older sister Carol left as a young girl to go to New York city and follow her. dream of becoming a designer.. Carol rarely comes home but reached out to Bonnie to let her daughter as a teenager to live with them. Many years later Carol decides to come to Yorktide. to buy out Bonnie's half of the family home.
As the Sisters both want the family home many relatives are drawn into the fray..most of the women in the book are related to each other.. They go through many twist and turns. Find out secrets from the past and present that make it hard to move forward. Great story of a generational family who learn how to live again. Book was very hard to put down.
I saw this book on bookstagram and knew I wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it. It drew me in and I didn't want to take a break. Definitely did not disappoint!
I want to thank NetGalley, Kensington Books, and author Holly Chamberlin for providing me with an ARC of this novel.
I have never read this author before, but I thoroughly enjoyed her writing. Not only the style, but the way she spun the story as well. Every family has their problems and arguments, and this novel gives you an inside look and also some insight. This is a very big and complex family drama; it reminded me somewhat of a soap opera. I was slightly disappointed with this as a whole, though. Sometimes families can’t be fixed, no matter how hard you try.
Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
What a very complex story, with lots of family drama going on. The family dynamics is so full of conflict! This really made it hard for me to keep track of everyone/everything when I first started reading the book. The cast of characters are very well defined but, there is a lot of them to remember!
In the end, the family members resolved many major conflicts within the family circle and rediscovered the importance of family, forgiveness and most of all, love for each other.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review. This is a family that has thought a certain way so long and with a lack of communication, things have just been getting worse. One summer the older sister, Carol decides to finally move back to Yorktown Maine where she grew up. She and her younger sister, Bonnie weren't very nice when they met at the beginning of the summer. Carol's daughter had moved to Maine when she was a teenager and they didn't have a good relationship.
It would take a lot of communication and courage to do what is needed in order to repair the damage that has been done. Every family has problems and reading this book gives you insight on the journey of this family for one summer. I hope you read the book to find out if they will have the courage to open up and be honest with one another. There will be secrets that will come out, issues they will have to deal with, and they will have to choose to listen. It is a book worth reading to find out the answers. I enjoyed reading this story, I got a lot out of it, and I could understand the way they were feeling. There comes a time when you just know you have to try to make things right, even if you know it could fail. For me, that was what the book was about. Being from Maine made me love the location.
Holly Chamberlin chronicles the love-hate relationship between sisters. As an only child, I never experienced the tumultuous dynamic as Carol and Bonnie's simmered in expectations and concealed circumstances. Carol relinquished care of her 15-year-old daughter to her sister to ensure Nicola's well being.
What was meant to safeguard her daughter's future built-up walls around Nicola's heart. Returning to her childhood to right past wrongs, Carol's rocky reception sets to topple her plans. Will she mend strained relationships to carve out a new future for her family?
I identified with Carol as I moved to New York City after college. Determined to succeed. I didn't confess my initial challenges until I was established. When taking a bite of the Big Apple, transplants require perseverance to overcome obstacles.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #AllOurSummer. Chamberlin crafted complex yet intentionally flawed female characters. A poignant quote resonated with me regarding Nicola's depiction of a meaningful life. 'A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.' Overcoming obstacles and the importance of family remained at the forefront throughout the novel. When we're ready to overcome our past and forgive ourselves, we can move forward towards building a brighter future.
****All Our Summers is a complex family drama populated by complex characters. Bonnie and sister Carol are at odds over the family homestead; Bonnie’s daughter, Julie, is depressed and at odds with her cheating husband; Julie’s daughter is angry at her mother for not kicking dad out of the house, Carol’s daughter, sent to live with Aunt Bonnie as a teen doesn’t even want to see her mother, etc., etc., etc. Will any of these conflicts ever be resolved? Being hopeful, this reader kept reading. The rewards for continuing outweighed all the depressing chapters and characters’ self doubt. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.
Initially I had a hard time reading those passages affiliated with Julie and Bonnie due to self deprecation, self pity and the inability to let go of the past. This rubbed off on all relationships and the perception of Carol coming to Yorktide. However, due to Carols strength of character and determination, did the family come together and past grievances were let go. They all became better for it in all facets including appearance and emotional well being.
Perhaps this isn't the right time to read this book!! Every family has a form of dysfunction, every family has its share of problems, not all families come around, not all families heal and love each other again. This book starts out being very dysfunctional and I'm quite sure by the end of the novel, all is resolved, all is well. For me, at this particular moment in time, I don't have the patience to find out. I don't have the patience to get through 141 chapters of I hate her, I eventually will acknowledge her. While I haven't read anything before by Holly Chamberlin, I'd be willing to give her another opportunity to show me her talent, but the next book would definitely have to have less chapters...that's for sure! Needless to say, I didn't finish reading! Two stars for effort.